Brain Disorders Affecting Children

Children with ASD develop differently from other children. They must overcome challenges in interacting and communicating with others. These challenges can affect their development, learning and future trajectories of their lives. This diagnosis is particularly difficult on low income families and minority groups as well as for parents with low educational attainment and those living in rural areas who may not have the financial means, suitable knowledge or access to resources to care for their children’s needs.

The primary cause of ASD is an idiopathic process and so cannot identify the precise disease mechanism. ASD is a progressive disease and is characteristically diagnosed during early childhood and can persist throughout an individual lifetime, needing lifetime specialist support with functional impairment (John Hopkins, 2014). Studies has shown that as an individual diagnosed with ASD grows they have an significantly increased risk of developing medical and psychiatric disorders which is contributed from the biological make-up of the individual (Perkins et al, 2012) including dyslipidaemia, gastrointestinal problem, epilepsy hearing, visual impairments, asthma, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and autoimmune

ASDs are chronic conditions that begin in childhood and have potential to affect outcomes into adulthood. Primarily, ASDs are neurodevelopmental disorders. They are characterized by heterogeneous severity of the core impairments (social interaction, communication, behavioral). Their other symptoms include language delay and intellectual disability. Although ASDs have not been reported to be completely cured, the evidence-based interventions have been reported to improve the core impairments and their other symptoms. However, because of the expense associated with behavioral interventions, financing these evidence-based interventions to improve outcomes for children with ASDs has often been the subject of debate. In fact, to improve access to behavioral interventions for children with ASDs, several states have passed mandates. Additionally, evidence suggests improvement in insurance coverage for children with ASDs after the passage of mandate. Therefore, economic evaluation of evidence-based interventions for children with ASDs can contribute to development and dissemination of best practice standards, and also support policies to ensure access to effective

Park, H. R., Lee, J. M., Moon, H. E., Lee, D. S., Kim, B.-N., Kim, J., … Paek, S. H. (2016). A Short Review on the Current Understanding of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Experimental Neurobiology, 25(1), 1–13. http://doi.org/10.5607/en.2016.25.1.1

The DSM-5 notes frequent co-occurrence of other neurodevelopmental disorders. However, if a child’s symptoms are better and more completely explained by ASD, intellectual developmental disorder, global developmental delay or another mental disorder, a diagnosis of SCD cannot be made. The notable absence of restricted and repetitive behaviors is the important in appropriately diagnosing a patient with SCD versus ASD.

The future of understanding the pathophysiology and etiology of ASD is promising. Increased research and testing efforts have improved. There has been remarkable progress towards genetics, neurobiology, and treatments and early interventions.

Transitioning to adulthood can be an extremely hard time for individuals diagnosed with ASD. Adulthood brings about new responsibilities and many lifestyle changes that can not be made smoothly unless the individual has been pushed to develop and grow properly, and given the opportunity to thrive. Families often succumb to the stress of trying to raise a child with a disability, which can lead to abuse, neglect, and overall lack of care of the individual. There tends to be a higher divorce rate among families with ASD. In fact, the divorce rate is five times higher than those families with “normal” childhood development (Van Hecke, 2010). This can be due to the added stress ASD can cause on the family. Added stress can come from confusing, often contradicting interventions that doctors often recommend to the family. On average, children with ASD are put through seven different intervention programs at one time, which clearly puts financial strain on most families (Magro, 2016). Sibling relationships also tend to deteriorate over time as they get older and are not able to keep bonds

Autism spectrum disorder is an umbrella term used in diagnosing a collection of developmental disorders of the brain that vary in severity1. People with ASD may have trouble with social interactions, problems with different types of communication, may practice repetitive actions or behaviors1,2, struggle with paying attention, and suffer from motor disfunctions1. ASD is usually diagnosed in children between the ages of 2 and 3, this early diagnosis is very beneficial because it leads to intervention which intern leads to more positive outcomes later in life1. ASD affects 1 in every 68 American children1 and is 4-5 times more common in boys than girls1. Prevalence of this disease is on the rise, with a 10-17% increases in cases per-year1, which could be due to improved diagnostic methods, environmental factors, and other reasons that are unknown1. One well established diagnostic tool is the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) which is 15-point rating scale3 used to diagnose children with ASD and determine its severity2. Another less accredited, but still informative diagnostic tool is the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC)2 which differs from the CARS because it is a parent rater form of measurment2. ASD has no cure, but there have been studies that show behavioral outbursts can be reduced with the use of certain movements and breathing techniques4. This encourages confidence that more aspects of ASD can be improved with similar methods.

One can state that the ASD is challenging to be: diagnosed, treated, and assessed. In this paper, high

ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder. The DSM-V includes a list of criteria that mentions what characteristics are present in a person with ASD. These include deficits in social communication

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a class of NDD affecting mostly males, which are largely idiopathic and display extensive variation in terms of phenotype, severity and degree of heritability [2]. It is postulated that the pathology of ASD is the result of a complex interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental risk factors, which disturb the developing brain [1]. ASD commonly involve deficits in social interaction and cognition, language, emotional learning and the presence of repetitive, stereotyped behaviours [1, 3, 4]. The brains of autistic children display reductions in long distance connectivity, abnormally regulated apoptosis and cell division, and increased inflammation [4].Additional studies have demonstrated gliosis, abnormal neuronal migration and

Over the last 20 years there has been a rapid rise in the rate of autism. The overarching consensus is that no matter the genesis for ASD, it results in abnormalities in brain structure and function. Identifying causation may lead to a cure, or the ability to identify genetic markers for the disorder. Finding causation could help us eliminate known teratogens from our environment, foods, and products still being used today.

The development of an explanation for the differing levels and severity of symptoms is also the culmination of much research conducted on how diagnostic criteria can be reconciled with those differing levels of severity. The idea of a “spectrum” came about because of those differing levels of symptoms present in individuals with autism. Study and research has also helped to identify genetic and environmental risk factors for developing ASD. A combination of genetic and environmental risk factors has also been shown to predict ASD. Various forms of treatment and intervention for ASD have been developed through much research, study and practice. Treatment for ASD is most effective when combined with a behavioral, communicative, and biomedical therapies. The impacts of ASD on the individual and the individual’s family have also been shown to correlate directly with the severity of ASD in the individual. The impacts on the individual mainly consist of impairments in functionality in many aspects of life. The impacts on the family of the individual with ASD consist of the struggle of adaptation to the person’s behavior and its associated stress on family

All three articles are about the brain and different disorders involving children. Each article has four participants. I chose to do stress and how it disrupts your sleep for six weeks. Once the six weeks is up I am going to use a stress ball and see if it helps with sleep patterns. These articles have to do with the function of the brain and I am going to be focusing on how stress alternates my sleep with or without a stress ball.

With continued experimentation to validate or expand upon these hypotheses, we may be able to explain postulate how this dysfunction leads to ASD phenotypes, and how those developmental disorders may be prevented.